Aerosol systems comprise an aerosol assembly and a liquid product to be dispensed. The aerosol assembly conventionally comprises a container, a valve assembly, an actuator assembly, and a cap. The liquid product is disposed within the container along with a propellant material that pressurizes the product. The valve assembly is normally in a closed configuration but may be placed in an open configuration to allow pressurized product to exit the container. The actuator assembly engages the valve assembly such that pressing the actuator assembly places the valve assembly in the open configuration to allow the product to be dispensed through a nozzle formed by the actuator assembly. The cap engages the container to protect the actuator assembly when the aerosol system is not in use.
For some materials being dispensed, the actuator assembly defines an outlet opening having an effective cross-sectional area that may be varied. Examples of actuators that define outlet openings the effective cross-sectional areas of which may be varied are described in the Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,185, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference. In the systems described U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,185, the outlet opening is changed to obtain different spray patterns and the like; this structure is of particular significance when the material to be dispensed is texture material. Texture material is deposited on a surface in a texture pattern for aesthetic purposes. The invention will be described herein in the context of an actuator assembly having a variable outlet opening, but certain aspects of the present invention may be applied to other types of actuators as will become apparent from the following discussion.
The cap employed by many aerosol systems prevents accidental discharge of product in many situations. However, it is possible that the cap may deformed by a load thereon sufficiently that product will be dispensed accidentally. In addition, the cap itself will not prevent malicious tampering with the product. A person wishing to tamper with the aerosol system can simply remove the cap and depress the actuator button.
Tampering is an even greater concern with a certain class of aerosol systems. In particular, certain aerosol systems employ a compressed inert gas such as air or nitrogen as the propellant material. The inert gas is typically lighter than the product being dispensed and will collect at the upper end of the container, so the aerosol assembly is designed with a dip tube that extends to the bottom of the container. When container is upright and the valve assembly is in the open configuration, the pressurized inert gas forces the product out of the container through the dip tube. However, if the container is inverted when the valve assembly is in the open configuration, the inert gas is free to flow out of the container through the dip tube in a very short time and without clear evidence that tampering has taken place. Once the compressed inert gas is dispensed, the aerosol system cannot dispense any of the product within the container and is considered defective.